Narrative:

We were conducting a part 91K flight with two passengers on board. Just prior to leveling off at FL220; the master caution annunciator illuminated. We identified the master caution as a left windshield fault. As the non-flying pilot; I picked up the checklist and followed the procedures for a windshield fault left/right. After following the checklist procedure; the left windshield fault annunciator went out. That completed the checklist procedure. I had just turned to my right and was setting the checklist down on the floor when there was a loud popping sound in my left ear. My thought was that we had hit something. It was on par with a gunshot sound. I looked up and saw that the left windshield had cracked; a few seconds later; the master caution illuminated again with the right windshield fault annunciator illuminating. I turned both of the windshield heat switches off to avoid cracking the right windshield. Once I saw the cracked windshield; I lowered myself to the lowest seating position possible in case the windshield decided to give way and started to read checklists. In a coordinated effort with [my first officer]; we decided that the best course of action was to land at the nearest suitable airport. [First officer] notified ATC that we wanted to land at [nearest suitable airport]. Before turning us over to approach; ATC asked if we were declaring an emergency to which my response was that we were not. ATC then instructed us to contact approach. We landed without any further incident. During the rollout; I noticed there were emergency vehicles off our left side following us from the taxiway. Apparently; tower had instructed them we were an aircraft on an emergency landing. We then cleared the runway and taxied to the FBO. Sometime after landing; after we coordinated another aircraft for our passengers; I contacted our assistant chief pilot. I explained what happened. During our conversation; he told me that I should have contacted him while still airborne because we could have continued on to our final destination. He indicated that according to the cessna checklist and MEL (I believe that was what was referenced); we could have continued on. Step 6 of the cockpit forward or side windshield cracked or shattered checklist states: land as soon as practical; procedure complete. After our passengers were underway; we received a brief update to ferry the plane to the cessna service center to have the windshield replaced. I spoke with [operations] again and told him that I had already told maintenance that we would not ferry the plane anywhere. It was determined that the aircraft would not be ferried.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CE560 Captain reported his windshield shattered at FL220. After running the QRC; they decided to divert to the nearest suitable airport.

Narrative: We were conducting a Part 91K flight with two passengers on board. Just prior to leveling off at FL220; the Master Caution annunciator illuminated. We identified the Master Caution as a Left Windshield Fault. As the non-flying pilot; I picked up the checklist and followed the procedures for a Windshield Fault Left/Right. After following the checklist procedure; the Left Windshield Fault annunciator went out. That completed the checklist procedure. I had just turned to my right and was setting the checklist down on the floor when there was a loud popping sound in my left ear. My thought was that we had hit something. It was on par with a gunshot sound. I looked up and saw that the left windshield had cracked; a few seconds later; the Master Caution illuminated again with the Right Windshield Fault Annunciator illuminating. I turned both of the windshield heat switches off to avoid cracking the right windshield. Once I saw the cracked windshield; I lowered myself to the lowest seating position possible in case the windshield decided to give way and started to read checklists. In a coordinated effort with [my First Officer]; we decided that the best course of action was to land at the nearest suitable airport. [First Officer] notified ATC that we wanted to land at [nearest suitable airport]. Before turning us over to Approach; ATC asked if we were declaring an emergency to which my response was that we were not. ATC then instructed us to contact Approach. We landed without any further incident. During the rollout; I noticed there were emergency vehicles off our left side following us from the taxiway. Apparently; Tower had instructed them we were an aircraft on an emergency landing. We then cleared the runway and taxied to the FBO. Sometime after landing; after we coordinated another aircraft for our passengers; I contacted our Assistant Chief Pilot. I explained what happened. During our conversation; he told me that I should have contacted him while still airborne because we could have continued on to our final destination. He indicated that according to the Cessna checklist and MEL (I believe that was what was referenced); we could have continued on. Step 6 of the Cockpit Forward or Side Windshield Cracked or Shattered checklist states: Land as soon as practical; procedure complete. After our passengers were underway; we received a brief update to ferry the plane to the Cessna Service Center to have the windshield replaced. I spoke with [Operations] again and told him that I had already told Maintenance that we would not ferry the plane anywhere. It was determined that the aircraft would not be ferried.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.